


Heart of the Sea

by FunkyRacoon



Category: Hannibal (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Anal Sex, Angst, Cannibalism, Coming Untouched, Drowning, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Hannibal is not, Happy Ending, Just goona warn you its sad, M/M, MerMay, Murder, Pelt Sex, Sad feelins, Selkies, Smut, Smut and Fluff, Violence, Will is a Cannibal, Will is a selkie, for once, mizumono feels
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-21
Updated: 2017-05-21
Packaged: 2018-11-03 11:30:33
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,460
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10966320
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FunkyRacoon/pseuds/FunkyRacoon
Summary: Hannibal is a scientist in the supernatural of the world, while moving to a remote snowy town he bites iff more than he can chew. A killer is loose, he's stuck in some strange man's house, and his balls are freezing.





	Heart of the Sea

**Author's Note:**

> So it's MerMay and I decided to do something for it, selkies are a technically a close cousin to mermaids. But they turn into seal, plus Will would make such a cute little sea dog.
> 
> Enjoy!

Before machine’s reign across the world, there had been stories told about creatures that lived in the sea. They had called them mermaids, have woman, half fish, a kind of creature that could lead a sailor to their death by their songs, and beauty. But far from the ocean, in the a freezing little city, they had other things to worry about beside mermaids. No, they did not have little fish people singing and dancing around in the water, showing off their beauty and songs across the land. Instead they had beast that swam in the water, disguising themselves as a regular seal, but bigger and meaner. Working together to break the fishing nets, and consume the fish caught by the fisherman, starving the town to death.

Then the men grew fearless.

They started to work in groups, throwing harpoons and spears into these monsters, pulling them up to land so they could gut them like fish. They thought they were smart, that they were brave, but these beast they grew smart as well. Soon the town had found themselves with a murderer in their midst, sneaking through the night to kill those brave beast hunters. Littering the cold snow with blood, and bodies, leaving the men with nothing but fear in their hearts. But did that stop them, no, no it did not. They worked harder, killing every seal on sight, setting out traps, and keeping a wary eye out on the town. This year, they would not starve in the winter, this year they would live.

And they did.

And for many years later, the little freezing town had grown, and was no longer in fear of these beast, these monsters. But they were not as safe as they believed themselves to be, for they still had a murderer in their town. One who was out for blood, one who would not stop, until he got his revenge.

~~

Hannibal Lecter was a well known man, for he was a man who had seen the sights, the world, and the things that lurked in the shadows of this world. He had written books on these shadows, creatures unlike any mankind had seen before, and had traveled the world to hunt and study them. Wanting to know more, and to share it with the world. Some people believed him, others not so much, but they enjoyed his books as he was quite the intellect. This time, however, he was out for a different, but same, reason, to catch the Cold Foot murderer. Oh, yes, he’s heard of said murders, one’s that have lasted for centuries, since the start of the town’s origin. Only to still be going on in the twentieth first century, no one had ever caught the murderer, and he became quite the legend, just like the legends that surround the town itself.

Beast, the men had called the monsters living in their sea.

But, that’s not quite what their called, are they? No. Hannibal knew what said beast were, selkies, a kind of relative to the the mermaids, a woman who could walk upon land, and then change into a seal to hunt in the ocean. Hannibal had never come encounter with a selkie before, but he has heard the stories of them. Dangerous creatures who could tip boats, and drag a man down to their death. But for him this was not a warning, no this was an invitation to study and hunt. And he would be doing just exactly that.

He had come to town in a rickety snow sled, not liking the way it hissed and steamed after a bit of the engines use. There was a constant worry that the damn thing would fall apart, leaving him stranded in the ice, but it held up quite well. Surprising him by the least, as he drove into the freezing little town, and parked it by other rickety looking snow sleds. No, one seemed to notice his presence, or they just didn’t care. He shrugged, not really worrying about them, for right now he just wanted to get a drink. The bar, or The Drunk Lady as the town called it, was full of rambunctious men, yelling, dancing, and drinking. It seemed cheerful enough to lighten a man’s sour mood, but all Hannibal needed right now was something to warm up his freezing balls.

The barmaid had looked him up and down, raising an eyebrow as Hannibal put on some small reading glasses. He probably did have a strange look to him, as all the other men had a full grown beard, Hannibal instead did not as he liked to keep his face cleanly shaved. But for this, he might end up having to grow a beard in the end. He gave her a small smile, before asking for a beer, she smiled back before leaving. Hannibal had sat in silence, enjoying the warmth of his beer, before someone had clasp a hand on his back. When he turned, he found himself staring into a man who kept a stern look in his eyes, but smiled at Hannibal otherwise.

“You must have just come here today, I’ve never seen a man like you around here before, Mr…?”

“Doctor Hannibal Lecter. I’m here on business.”

“Oh, Jack Crawford, but you can just call me Jack.” The man smiled, taking a seat down next to Hannibal, “Why kind of work do are you doing here, Dr. Lecter.”

“Please, just call me, Hannibal. I write books on things that lurk, creatures of myth. I also hunt them down, and have happen to come across hearing about this town of yours.” Hannibal explained, returning a small smile. “I was hoping to come by, and find a selkie, perhaps study it before it dies. And possible see if I can catch your little killer.”

“Ah, I see. The old selkie tales, well you might be a little late, my friend. As we haven’t had a selkie problem in years, probably died off from starvation, or went to live somewhere else. As for the Cold Foot Murderer, well...we’ve been working on him, but as his title says, we’ve just been finding nothing.” Crawford sighed, letting out years of work and research fall off his shoulders.

“I see. But I would like to give it a try, to see if I can catch both the killer, and a selkie. Maybe even write a book on them both.” He laughed along with Crawford.

“Well, perhaps I can direct you to a nice place to stay, and a man who might just have the things you need to catch this selkie of yours.”

Later that night, Hannibal found himself following Crawford out of the bar. Crossing the towns desolate streets, and walking past the town's gates. Crawford had laughed at Hannibal’s raised eyebrows, as he stopped at the exit. 

“Don’t worry, I’m not going to kill you out here. There’s a man out here who I want you to meet, he’ll be able to help you, and give you a place to sleep. Oh, just a warning, I hope your not allergic to dog’s.” Crawford explained, shoving his gloved hands into his pocket, before continuing to make his way through the frozen forest.

It was almost beautiful, looking at the forest at night, with the moon out and the winds howling. A kind of peace and serenity had taken over Hannibal, as he walked through these woods. They ended up following a clear trail through the woods, made by years of walking back and forth, and snow sleds sliding here and there. It had probably taken them not longer than half an hour, before Hannibal saw the slightest peak of light up ahead. The thought of a warm bath, and a warm bed had him relaxing while the unforgivable icey winds ran around his figure. The sound of howling would have alarmed him, of there weren’t barks included with the mix.

How many dog’s does this man have?

Crawford looked back at Hannibal, almost like he was afraid that he would disappear in the woods, but no, he was still there following Crawford to this mysterious man’s house. They stomped up the stairs, wiping the snow off their boots, before Crawford was banging on the doors, and hollering like a madman.

“Graham, I know you’re in there, get your ass out here. You’ve got company for the night.” Crawford yelled, never giving the door a breather from his fist, until it opened up.

Hannibal found himself looking at a scraggly looking man, his head full of wild dark curls that caught in the wind. His figure was covered in a heavy jacket, with dogs sniffing and trying to squeeze themselves out from behind his legs. He had a beard, just like everyone else in the town, but there were a few things that caught Hannibal’s attention. Maybe it was the way that the man’s avoided eye contact with everyone, or the large cut down his left cheek. Leaving Hannibal’s mind to think of how the man’s past was like, or what he was hidden. But then he found the air in his lungs catching when the man’s eyes finally glanced into his own. 

It was like the ocean, standing there in the middle of this giant sea of emptiness. Beautiful as it is dangerous, like a storm on the rise he can feel the winds picking up. The air turning salty, the skies soon turning dark. A storm hidden in the eye of a man, or maybe...a beast.

“Hannibal Lecter meet Will Graham, he’s the town’s local hermit and the man for the job on seal hunting. He’s earned those titles for his work.” Crawford said, wiping off his shoes, as he barged into the other man’s house.

“I didn’t earn those titles, the town gave them to me as some gift. A very unwelcoming one at that.” Will grumbled, glaring at Crawford’s snowed boots. Hannibal took note of the boots that had been set to the side, taking the time to pull his own off and set them where they should be. Listening to the other’s talk.

“What is it now that you want? I’m busy, and you know I don’t like company.” Will snarled, shoulders tensing as Crawford set a hand on them, only to flinch at the touch.

“Hannibal will only be staying here for about a week or so, he’s a guest, and you were the best option. Besides, what happened to the days when you were excited to go seal hunting.” Crawford bit back, still keeping up a friendly attitude.

“I was a child who didn’t know any better, and besides, nothing but fish live out in there anymore. We killed all the seals.” Will’s eyes glanced down again, his voice going low. Hannibal raised an eyebrow, noting how uncomfortable the man was about talking about seal hunting.

Something about this stingy man was keeping Hannibal’s interest, and he wanted to know more and more about him by the second. Turning around, Hannibal walked to the living room to find a nice fire going, the dogs that Will kept were laying on there beds, yawning and snoozing. He smiled a little at the sight, know that this Will was a kindhearted person if he kept this many dogs around. Sitting down in an old Lay-Z-Boy chair, Hannibal looked up to the ornaments hanging ontop the fireplace, gaping a little at what he saw.

There was a large harpoon mantled on the wall, the barbed ends sharpened to a point, with the remains of dried blood on them. Not only was there a large harpoon, but there was also a couple of seal skins hanging over the piece, each one skinned and dried, ready to be made into a carpet or rug. Crawford wasn’t lying when he said that Will was a great seal hunter. Hannibal jumped a little when he heard the front door slam close, and stayed still as he listened to the sound of shuffling feet. Will walked into the living room, glaring at Hannibal a little, before letting it drop.

“So, what are you here for, seal hunting I suppose since Crawford dropped you off here?” He grumbled, shuffling over to sit in the other chair. A small dog came running up to Will happily, jumping on his lap to nuzzle against his chest.

“I’m not here really for seals to be exact. I’m a writer on the supernatural’s of the world, you may have heard of me before in the news. I catch monsters, and study them before having to...put them down.”

“Oh, so you kill these things that you ‘believe’ to be monsters, after you keep them in a cage and study them for days? Wow, sounds like an interesting thing to do, ever done it on a human before. I heard they can be quite the feisty one’s.” Will hissed at him.

Hannibal stuttered a little before speaking again, “I apologize, if I’ve offended you, but that’s just my job. I-...you don’t seem very fond of eye contact do you?”

Will cringed, his face scrunching up as he pulled back into himself a bit. “No. You just see too much when you look a person in the eye. Did they get enough sleep, is that a bursted vain, do they have pink eye. I-I often have unsavory thoughts while doing so as well.”

“You don’t find taste in the way people think?”

“No, it’s what they do that I often find distasteful, or what they’re going to do.”

“Do you see into people’s minds Will? See something that no one else can see?”

“There’s a room on the bottom floor made for you, don’t come upstairs that’s my room and I don’t like people in my space. You cook your own meals, and get your own food. Just...leave me alone, unless it’s a dire need.” Will snapped, standing up and moving to the door, he froze at it, before turning to say, “I don’t find you that interesting.”

And with that he was gone. 

“You will.” 

~~

By next morning, Hannibal was feeling the chill seep into the room, curling around his body like a snake. He woke up shivering a little, only to find that his window was cracked open a little. He was going to have to check on that later, before he went to sleep. Pulling on a red sweater he left the room to go fix himself a meal, letting the dogs out before starting up the coffee. He found himself reminiscing to last night, with the argument he had with Will, and cringing a little at his words. He should probably apologies for his words, but isn’t good with starting up conversations, but he was good at something else.

Smiling a little to himself, Hannibal pulled out any edible food he could salvage to turn into some breakfast. He would make Will something nice, in thanks for his hospitality, and for helping him with his book. Maybe, Will could take him out, and show him around the areas that the selkies were often found. Shrugging, Hannibal started up the stove, as he set down a pan and started cutting up the vegetables.

~~

When Will woke up, he found himself waking with a taste in his mouth, a taste he has know for many years. Blood. When he checked around his mouth, he found that nothing had been torn open, or bitten, so it must have been something he ate last night. When he went out for a....nevermind. He sits up, stretching his arms only to groan at the sore muscle in his shoulder, the one where he was stabbed with a hook. Damn that drunken man for being such a fool. Stuffing himself in a shirt, Will yawned as he walked down the stairs stopping at the smell of something delicious cooking. 

He peaked inside the kitchen to find his, unwanted guest, cooking for the both of them. He had the table cleaned off and set already with two mugs of coffee, and plates. The dogs sat around his heels, staring up and waiting for something to drop. But the only thing’s that did were the very few slips of meat that Hannibal would toss down for them.

“You’ll spoil them more than I already do, if you keep that up.” Will finally said, walking into the room to seat himself down.

“What’s wrong with spoiling them for just a bit, there not doing anything wrong are they?”

“Exactly. They’ll place nice for a bt, until soon they want to lay in bed with you, or jump on your lap while you eating.” Will smiled, watching as Buster was already jumping up Hannibal’s leg for more food. 

“This one seems to have the worse manners of them all.” Hannibal frowned, motioning for Buster to leave, only to have the dog rub up against his leg. 

“Buster is always the worst of them all.” Will laughed, “Buster down.”

The dog whined a little, before bouncing over to his master, and laying down at his feet. The other dogs had left the kitchen to go eat their own food, that Hannibal had put down for them. When Will saw the food being plated down for him, he almost drooled at the smell.

“A protein scramble, I thought it would be kind of me to make an apology dish for our...argument last night.” Hannibal explained, seating himself down at the table.

“Ah...yeah...sorry, I don't-I'm not used to having company, I just…I’m not very good with things involving being social.” 

“Hmm...that’s fine. I can see how it can be uncomfortable, I'm not much of a social person as well, I'd rather have a good book than a good conversation.”

Will laughed along with Hannibal, “I can't say I don't agree with you on that.”

After that they broke out into silence, eating the food prepared by Hannibal, only being interrupted by Will a couple of times as he loaned about the flavor. It was very well cooked for him, for Will hasn't eaten a very good-or an actual meal, one that you can actually say is a meal-in a very long time. Finding himself a little upset when he’s finished all of the food, before he knows it the plate is empty. Hannibal smiles, passing his half eaten plate to Will, knowing that he would benefit more from the protein than himself. Will consumes the rest of Hannibal’s plate, falling in love with each bite. When the plate turns up empty again, Will leans back into his chair sipping at his coffee.

The silence continues to live through the both of them, as Hannibal spends the morning unpacking his things. Crawford had come by in the morning only to drop of the man’s bags, and a box of food supplies, not speaking to either or even knocking on the door to let them know he was there in the first place. It wasn’t until Hannibal had let the dogs out for a piss, which was approximately 27 minutes after Crawford had come by to drop the box off, did Hannibal notice the things. Thus, we come back to the presence, where Hannibal is busying himself with hanging clothes up in the closet, and Will in the study room cleaning his gear. Waiting, possibly for Hannibal to come and ask for him to take him out on a hunt, or just spending some time cleaning the old thing. 

Hannibal hears Will pass by his room once or twice, actually it was five times, one in which Will had stood in the doorway watching before scurrying away to not get caught, as he unpacks. He is, however, oblivious to when Will practically stands by his door to watch him work, never once noticing the man as he cleans off the desk and sets up work. He pulls another jacket over himself, not bothering to clean up the rest if his room or to dress, as his mind is just swelling to begin writing the beginning to his new book. 

He sits around for the next couple of hours, missing lunch, as ge writes down the draft for the first chapter. Hannibal has a peculiar way of writing, or the process of when he does write, as he will spend hours upon hours hunched over his work. Forgetting the time as it seems to just fly over his head unnoticed, he could miss breakfast, lunch, and dinner if no one comes by to wake him from his writer’s dream. Practically trapping himself in a hxae as ge writes, and crosses out lines, then writes again, maybe sit back to him while looking over his work, jot down a few notes(which can sometimes be too many), before finally going back writing. His process is long and complicated to most outsiders, as they could not possibly understand the hardship of being writer, or what it takes to be one.

The only thing that pulls him out of stupor, is when Will lightly knocks on the door and walks in with a plate with a sandwich on it. Hannibal’s stomach grumbled at himself for starving it, making him smile sheepishly at Will who only chuckled a little. While he ate, Hannibal watched as Will looked around the room, taking everything in like it was a whole new room. And well it kind of was, only slightly changed, but to Will it was different as he wasn’t use to someone in this room.

“You seem to be rather at home with yourself here.” he commented, looking down at the desk. 

“I pack lightly most of the time, I'm also usually use to only moving around.”

“Never settled down in one place for too long, I was always on the move. Even as a kid.”

Will nodded his head, skimming over the first page to Hannibal’s book. It was mostly a rundown on what a selkie was, though some were a little false Will wasn’t going to tell the man, unless he wanted to get caught. He smiled, at the neat script, thinking of his own messy scrawled handwriting.

“I was thinking of showing you around the place, to where you can find the seals. But if you're-”

“I would love to.”

Will looked up a little surprised, chuckling a little as he saw Hannibal frozen in mid bite of his sand which.

“Well, I guess you better suit up then. You want last a minute out here with those on.” Will chuckles, “I’ll be downstairs when you're ready.”

Hannibal nods his head, watching as Will takes his empty plate and leaves the room. Quietly, he wonders what was going through Will’s head as he read his drafts. He wonders what Will thinks of him, or if the man even likes him as a friend, or just some stranger who was pushed to stay in his house. He frowns upon the strange situation Crawford has put them both in, but hopes it will change. Hopefully, soon.

~~

Will was right, god was he right. The clothes Hannibal had packed for his trip up here were not fit for the weather, for it stayed cold periodically through the day. But at night it dropped to freezing, which was why Will kept three heaters in the house. But now, as Hannibal follows Will through the forest, or more importantly the freezing wasteland called a forest. His teeth chatter together, as he brings his arms up to wrap around himself.

He should probably grow a beard soon.

Will walks easily through the snow, using an old walking stick to make his way through it all. Hannibal has his own walking stick, but it feels useless as he continues to sink into the snow.

“How much longer? I'm not sure I can keep going, without falling into the snow.” he says lightly, trying to start a conversation.

Will laughs, it is cheerful and lightening, bringing Hannibal's mood up gradually as he speaks, “Don’t worry, if you fall I'll phelp you back up. You’ll get use to the snow before you know it.”

Hannibal frowns, he does not want to be out here anymore, this was an awful place to come to. But he needed the research, and it was the only place he could find with actual evidence of selkies having appeared. He watches as will moves through the snow with more grace than himself, his feet move quick and agile over the snow, while Hannibal is clumsy with his own movements.

He opens his mouth to speak again, only for Will to motion with a finger for him to stay quiet as he directs off the path and into the trees. Hannibal follows, slightly fearing that this might be the place where he’s murdered, but as they move through the trees he starts to hear a noise. In most, common zoos, seals there make those happy barking noises, are cute and lazy. But these are not the same noise. 

No, the noise Hannibal hear sound like low guttural sneezing sounds, along with chirping and purring sounds. Will ducks behind a large mass of snow, his eyes are squinted with joy while his smile is hidden under a cloth so his nose doesn't freeze. Hannibal follows his crouched position, waiting for Will to give the Ok sign. When he does, Hannibal looks over the pile of snow, his eyes widening at the sight before him. There not to far is a party of spotted seal, happily snoozing and barking with each other. A fe white furry little pups jump around, chasing one another before rolling over and yapping. Hannibal chuckles softly at the sight, jumping a little when he sees movement in the corner of his eye.

Will has taken the bag off his back, zipping it open and pulling out a large container. He holds a hand out for Hannibal to stay, “They don’t like strangers, I call you when it’s safe.”

Will opens the lid, to reveal fine cut slabs of red meat. He moves slowly towards the seals, pulling the mask from his mouth as he starts making low moaning sounds. It catches some of the seals attention, and they stare over to him. He freezes, crouching low as he holds out a slice of the meat, making a couple of chirps. His accuracy with the noises are almost unbelievable, as Hannibal watches, he wonders how long it took him to get it perfected. 

He wondered how many times Will was attacked by his false sounds.

A large seal sits up, possible a male, and starts to move his way over to Will. It sniffs at the air, before moving closer as it makes a slight growling sound at Will. Will seems unfazed by the noise, as he crouches down to the floor holding the slab of meat out before making small chirp noises. The seal stops, sniffs at the air before making a small moan as it came closer.

Will makes a few smaller chirps, tossing the piece of meat to the seal who gobbles it up in a bite. Hannibal waits for the beast to attack, only to watch as it yawns and rolls on its back to scratch its belly. A chuckle comes from Will as he rubs a hand down the seals belly, before motioning for Hannibal to come forward. He does, after a few seconds of hesitation, he leaves the safety of snow pile and walks over to Will. Crouching low, as he approaches the seal. 

It sniffs at his pant legs, before snorting and rolling back over to its side to yawn again. 

“Did you...give him something to sleep?” Hannibal asks, laying a gentle hand on top of the seal’s skin.

“No, he's just normally lazy like that. They have no natural predators here, unless you count humans, so they don't have much to worry about, except for food.” Will explains, looking over his shoulder as a few of the pups come up to him

They sniff at his hand, one at a time, before barking happily as he tosses each one a slip of meat. Will hands Hannibal the container before the pups start flopping on top of him. Will is powerless under the seal pups, laughing as they sniff at him and tickle his face with their whiskers. One even tries to burrow inside his jacket with him. To which Will yelps at the freezing cold, and swats the poor thing away, only to pull it back in for a cuddle. The pups are ecstatic around him, until one notices Hannibal standing nearby and alerts the others. Thus, causing the pups to hide behind Will, Hannibal frowns a little wondering what he did wrong.

Will chuckles, “Sorry, I forgot to mention that their shy. Don’t worry they’ll warm up.”

“Duly noted.” 

Hannibal shuffles around a bit, before sitting down, hissing at the cold snow under his ass. Will chuckles, and holds out a hand for Hannibal to hand him a piece of meat. Will tears of pieces to give to the pups, slowly making a trail leading towards Hannibal. Only one is brave enough to come forth, the pup sniffs at Hannibal’s pant legs before making a small yip and then flopping itself onto Hannibal's lap. Both men chuckle as the pup curls up under the warmth, like some little sea cat.

"Sometimes I come here to just be away from it all, Crawford, the town, even my dogs sometimes. It's just...quiet here, and I can think for once." Will sighed, rubbing the nose of a pup.

"Does anyone else know about this place?"

"No....I always lead them to dead ends, or places that the seals never go to anymore. You're the only one who knows."

"Why?"

Will licks his lips, his eyes trained out on the horizon where the waves crash with each other. A battle not beatable, for there is nothing to win with the outcome. "I feel like I can...trust you."

Hannibal doesn't respond, instead he licks his lips an follows Will's forlornly look towards the sea. Wondering what melancholic feelings are running around in Will's bone arena. A sigh escapes from Will's mouth, it's noise compliments along with the ocean. Always sighing and groaning, wanting; but for what?

When they leave it's in a comforting silence.

~~

A noise fills the air in the house, like a low thrumming, guttural and beastly. It fills all the empty spaces, all the nooks and crannies of the cabin. Seeping in through the cracks of Hannibal's room, he finds himself awaken by the noise. He sniffs, reaching over for his glasses only to freeze as he hears the noise again, it sounds...remorseful.

Straining his ears, Hannibal fumbles with putting on his glasses, before slipping out of the bed. He freezes, heavy footsteps walk across the top floor, a door opens before shutting, the sound of a bathtub being filled with water. Hannibal settles down, his ears still straining a bit to hear what the moaning was all about, instead he hears a few groans before Will settles into the bathtub. Closing his eyes he can imagine the scene, the bathroom fogged up by heat while Will lays in the bathtub. Nude and exposed, he imagines Will’s chest to be hairless-unlike the beard he has perfectly grown-smooth and pale, soft to the touch.

Hannibal feels the need to just touch and feel, taste his lips upon Will’s skin, wondering if he taste like he smells. Sea water, ashes, and something sweet but with a burning scent to it. Like a person who just ran from their burning home, but the fire had yet to consume their home completely. Another moan erupts from upstairs, the sound is in pain, agony, but why?

Quietly, Hannibal makes his way up the stairs, making sure to step lightly as some of the steps will squeak under his weight. When he gets to the top of the stairs, he waits patiently until he hears another of the agonizing groans. The pain is heart wrenching to hear, like having nails pulled out from your skin, and then having to put them back in. 

He clears his throat, walking towards the cracked open door to open it slowly, “Will? Are you o-”

Will freezes like a kid caught will his hand in the candy jar, his eyes widening at the sight of Hannibal. Hannibal however, almost finds himself falling backwards at the sight of Will’s back. Blood runs down the maimed skin, looking like some wild animal attack, only without the marks. To put the scene simple, it looks as if Will had peeled his own skin off, cutting a perfect rectangle of skin out of his back.

“Will...what-”

“Hannibal.”,is the only thing that comes out of Will’s mouth, it sounds like the snarl from a beast. His eyes flashing a darker blue, making him look feral and alive.

Like a wild beast…

Hannibal blinks, slowly retracting himself from the door, before battling down the stairs and back into his room. He ignores it all, falling into his bed and closing his eyes. Sleep sleep sleep, he tries to tell himself, but his body tingles with a feeling he cannot place, fear? Or something else…Whatever it is, it keeps him up for another hour, before he slowly falls asleep, hoping to dear God that it was all just a dream. The howling pained noises follow him into his sleep.

~~

Hannibal spends the next couple of days with the seals, sometimes he's alone with them watching them play around and feeding them. Other times Will will accompany him, only to stand off to the side staring forlornly at the sea. It is in those times where Hannibal wishes to walk up and hold him, carry this fragile creature back home and just care for his aches and pains. They do not discuss what had happened that night, no, by morning Hannibal finds Will sitting perfectly without pain in his seat reading with a mug in hand. He doesn't ask him if it really happened, or if it was all just a dream.

Some nights, Hannibal will wake up to the sound of the front door closing. He would lay there in the quiet darkness, listening for any sign of movement, only to be awaken later by those aching moans and the bathtub running. On those nights, he is unsure. Whether to run up and help Will, to demand for his questions to be answered, or if he is just reliving the same dream over, and over. Only to wake in the morning, to Will acting like nothing had happened the night before.

His teeth clench a little, and the questions build inside his head.

The selkie hunting is slow business, as Hannibal meticulously watches each seal for any difference in them. But all the seals seem happy and fat, especially the pups who have started to like Hannibal, and will follow him around until he sits down to let them lay on him. Will commence only once on this, smiling as he says, “Now those little assholes will never leave you alone.”

Hannibal had smiled up at him to reply with a playful, “Little assholes? That doesn't flirting for these little angels, fat and happy as ever.”

“You watch you back, next thing you know they-”

“AH-SHIT!” 

Hannibal jumps, as one of the pups outsmart his snow jacket. Opening the heater up to burry it’s little cold self inside, it’s freezing fur making Hannibal shudder as he tries to pull of out. Meanwhile, Will is of no use as he continues to laughing roaringly at Hannibal’s mistake. Cute and small they maybe, but also little tricksters. After the event, Hannibal follows Will back home, even as the man continues to laugh at his mistakes. 

“You know next time you lay down they’ll be three of them trying to-Hannibal?” Will stops, turning around to look for his companion only to find nothing but the trees. “Hannibal? HANNI-OOF!”

A big ball of snow collides with Will’s face, causing him to flail and fall backwards. When he wipes the snow off, he hears chuckling from not too far away. Will smirks, grabbing snow into his hand to throw it at his component, only to have another snowball hit him. 

“No, fair! You didn't warn me!” Will growls, throwing his ball of snow, and missing it by a long shot as Hannibal jumps over the trees.

“Maybe, instead of laughing at me, you should have been paying attention.” Hannibal cackles, dodging another snowball, before throwing his own.

They go back and forth like this, taking opposite sides of the trail to throw snowballs at each other. Hannibal’s aim is a monster, but when Will knocks off his glasses he’s defenseless afterwards. Missing almost entirely at his target, while frantically searching for his glasses while laughing. When he finds them-laying next to the roots of a tree-he smirks while putting them on, only to have a mass of snow dropped on his back and being pushed to the ground. Both men laugh as they roll around in the snow, tossing it at each other before coming to a stop to take a breather from their activities.

Will smiles down from where he’s laying on top of Hannibal, laughing a little as he wipes some snow off of Hannibal's chiseled face. His eyes skimming up and down, as they take in the man’s viking like beauty. Prominent cheekbones, softly sad maroon eyes that tell of years and stories, and lips that can be violent but also soft. Will runs his gloveless thumb across Hannibal's lips, feeling the silky smooth texture of them and how warm they feel. Hannibal brings an arm up to wrap it around Will’s wrist, holding his hand down as he kisses the face of his thumb. Will’s breathing freezes, watching as Hannibal’s lips move over his knuckles, kissing each one softly while warm breath washes over his hand. 

“Will.”

His breathing stutters coming out, whistling a little before it becomes normal. Heartbeat racing and jumping, all nerves on edge as he waits, waits for what, he does not know. But the look in Hannibal’s eyes give him a slight hint.

“Hannibal.”

“Can I kiss you?”

Will freezes, his voice stuck in his throat, as he cannot trust himself to answer. He looks at Hannibal, really looks into his eyes, searching for something he cannot pinpoint exactly. But he finds it, or finds something in those eyes, something he needed to know. Trust. Will nods his head slowly, staying motionless in Hannibal's arms.

When they kiss it is nothing like the movies, or the books, there is no dramatic scene to which comes forth. No surprises, or horse that comes for their run into the sunset. No, it is just that. A kiss. Warm and soothing, lightly pecking each other's lips, before shying away. Will finds himself smiling, glancing down at Hannibal’s red snow jacket, before looking back up. They chuckle awkwardly, before leaning down for a kiss, this time it’s longer and more coordinate. The kiss last longer than the first, exploring the feeling of skin against skin, as Will grunts a little when Hannibal nibbles on his lower lip.

He pulls back to catch his breath, “I think we should go inside to continue this, unless you want to get caught bare naked in the snow.”

Hannibal only smiles at him, his eyes squinting a little as he does. 

They rush back to the house, hands grabbing at each other when they get inside. Will pushes Hannibal onto the living room, as he drags his snow jacket off. Hannibal watches as Will starts up the fireplace, while he himself removes the rest of his clothing. Will has already lost his shirts and jackets, leaving his chest bare. There are no scars on his back to signify that what had happen those very few nights were nothing but dreams. Hannibal isn't sure whether he’s happy about this, or a little upset. But his mind does not wander far, as Will is quick to remove the rest of his own clothing shucking them away.

It was awkward to say the least, as they stood there for a minute staring at each other’s naked bodies. Hannibal found himself fixated on Will’s lips, and before he knew it they were pressing against his own lips. Will held onto him tightly, like he was afraid this all might just fall apart and end, rest assure it wouldn't until they were both dead asleep. 

“Lay down.” Hannibal said, pushing at Will’s chest. His voice rough from kissing, and from lust.

Will smiled a little, laying himself down on the black furred rug, and god was Hannibal in love with the sight. He was beautiful, majestic even, laying there like some heavenly being sent down to smite Hannibal’s heart. And he had, had his heart picked on the tip of his spear head. Perfect for consumption. He followed Will down to the floor, towering over him as he continued to pull kisses from Will. They moaned as their bodies touched, touched starved from the days of living out away from the town, tingling with sensation all over their bodies. Will tugs at Hannibal’s hair, rubbing his beard against Hannibal’s own scruffy beard. It’s almost pleasant feeling, until Will reaches lower and begins to suck kisses into Hannibal’s neck. 

The older man moans, reaching up to pull off his glasses and toss them to the side. He runs his fingers through Will’s lush and long dark curls, before pulling his head down to expose his neck. 

“You are absolutely divine, sweet Will. I could just consume every inch of you, and not be filled by your beauty.” Hannibal growls, curling his toes as Will moans underneath him. “I want you, like I have never wanted another person before. I want you forever.”

“Forever is a long time, Hannibal, are you sure you can handle me for that long?”

There's a glint of mischievousness on Will’s eyes, like the flint of a jewel hidden under the sand. Hannibal smirks, his sharp teeth exposing themselves as he smiles before leaning down to capture Will’s lips once more, and mumbling, “I will never tire of you, mylimasis.”

Will moans, his arms and legs wounding around Hannibal’s body, trapping them together as Hannibal begins to grind against him. They boy groan at the feeling, skin against skin, something so rare to wither one that it feels like blasphemy for them to do it now. Hannibal keeps a steady and slow pace, grinding against Will’s erection with his own, his ass cheeks clenching at the feeling, while he lathers kisses onto Will. When will has had his fill of this, he pulls at Hannibal’s hair pushing his lips off his own so he can breath.

“Hannibal…” he pants, low and heavy, eyes flutter as Hannibal scrapes his teeth slowly across Will’s collarbone. “I want you.”

Hannibal moans, nodding his heads, before sitting up. He doesn't have any line on him, and doesn't have the patience to go find some, so instead he sticks two fingers into his mouth. Making sure to make loud wet noises, pulling a few whines from Will as he presses his erection closer to Hannibal’s. But Hannibal doesn't play nice, he pushes Will back down, pulling his fingers out of his mouth before reaching down to tease at Will’s hole.

“Hannibal!” Will whines.

“Shhh...be patient, Will.” Hannibal hums, rubbing around the rim with his finger, before pressing a finger in. 

Will jumps at the feeling, his mouth gaping open a little, as he clenches around Hannibal’s finger. Slowly, Hannibal tells himself, pushing his finger in and put if Will, letting him get use to the feeling. He watches Will’s face react beautifully to him, gasping and clenching, his toes flexing and curling as Hannibal presses deeper. But when he adds two fingers into him the view is a lot more vibrant, as Will’s back arches off the ground, releasing a scream. Hannibal massages that area for a bit, watching Will squirm and hotel with pleasure underneath his hand.

“Beautiful.”

After having three fingers in him, Will makes a whine, and Hannibal knows what he wants. He spits on his hand, rubbing his cock before leaning over Will, and pressing against his hole. They kiss once more, as Will wraps his legs around Hannibal's waist, pushing Hannibal's head into him. Will’s mouth opens into a perfect o, pink swollen lips wet from saliva from kissing. When Hannibal is fully seated inside of Will he waits, hovering over as he lightly nips at his ears. Will having his face hidden inside of the crook of Hannibal’s neck, ams wrapped tightly around his neck as he heaves for air. But Hannibal is patient, and he waits until Will nods to him, giving him the OK to continue.

Hannibal starts slowly at first, letting Will get use to the feeling, before slowly speeding up. His thrust turning animalistic as he presses into Will, first searching for his prostate. After that he begins to pound restlessly into Will, zeroing in at the one spot, moaning at the wonderful sounds he pulls from Will. His Will. Will snarl a slightly, clenching harshly around Hannibal, as his cock rubs between the, trapped in full skin on skin contact. When he gets closer to coming his vision starts to blur, as he lookings down to watch Will’s face react to his ministrations. Sweat drenching his forehead, mouth gaped open, as the eyes roll to the back of his head. And then

“Ah-AH! Hannibal!” Will screaming, words garbled a bit, as he comes between the both of them.

Hannibal gasp, swallows, unable to make a noise as he comes inside of Will. Feeling like some part of him had died during his orgasm, he wonders if that was how Will felt too, but doesn’t bother asking. Both spent and warm, Hannibal pulls out of Will only to lay down next to him. They curl into one another, panting and stretching as the fire roars behind. Hannibal reaches up smiling, his eyes crinkling a bit as he runs his hands through Will’s curls. Bring him close so they can kiss, and then laying his head back down.

“That was...nice.” Hannibal says awkwardly, unable to figure out anything else to say. At least it makes Will laugh.

“It was definitely nice...I would like to do it again. Just, maybe after I'm not so sore.” They both chuckle, Hannibal pulls Will close to his chest, resting his head on top of Will’s as he shuts his eyes. Will hums quietly for a bit, before falling asleep. Hannibal smiles, running a hand down Will’s back, then up, before coming to a stop to fall asleep as well.

~~

The next morning, they do not wake up blissfully, laying around to just stare at one another in admiration, or kiss each other awake. No, both men wake to the sound of pounding on the front door, and the dogs barking like mad. Will hisses as he pulls himself up, tugging on his underwear, but not bothering with anything else but a jacket. When he opens the door he finds a scowling Jack Crawford at him, he doesn’t even give Will the chance to greet him as he barges in the house.

“So, you've heard right?” Crawford says almost cryptid in his words.

“Heard what? Jack I have just woken up by you banging on my door like a madman.” Will scowls, hoping to god that Crawford doesn’t walk into the living room.

“Matthew Brown is dead. We found him this morning torn open like a piñata in the middle of town square. No one saw, or heard anything last night.” Crawford explained, dropping a couple of pictures of the chrome scene onto the kitchen counter. “We...have our suspicions.”

“So, the Cold Foot murderer attacked again, I understand that. By why are you here?”

“Will where were you last night?”

Will stands shocked, in front of him is a man he thought he could have trust, but now he sees that he was wrong.

“He was with me all night, Crawford.” Hannibal says, walking into the hall, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. “We were here all night.”

Crawford looks between the both of them, looking at Will as a blush starts to form on his face as he hides the marks on his neck. Crawford almost looks shocked himself, “I see.”

He moves to the door, pulling his gloves back on before turning back around. 

“The killer is still out there, Will. The town has their suscpision, be careful out there.” Crawford warns, his eyes lingering on Will, before leaving. 

Hannibal raises an eyebrow, noticing how something between the two seems...closed. He ignores it for the moment so he can walk over to Will, and hug him, smiling as Will curls into his touch.

“Are you okay?” 

Will sighs, nodding his head as he stares down at the pictures, “It takes a lot more than blood and gore to shake me up, Hannibal.”

Hannibal chuckles, wrapping his arms around Will, nuzzling his curls as he looks down at the pictures. His stomach drops at the scene, it looks like some rampant wild animal killed the man. His body was torn up, and tossed around, blood splattered across the snow. He’s glad that he hadn't eaten anything before seeing this, or else it would have ended up in the toilet.

He makes a light breakfast for them, Will brushes down each dog, before filling up there bowls after letting them back in the house. They make small talk, smiling at each ogher as their legs tangle under the table. Afterwards, Hannibal retreats back into his room to write some more, Will cokes in after a bit to distract Hannibal from his work. Which he does very well. Before telling him that he's going out to hunt.

“Don’t be home late, or else you’ll miss dinner, and it'll be cold.” Hannibal says, gripping Will’s ass a little, as he watches him go to the door.

“No, promises.” Will laughs before leaving.

Hannibal sits back in his seat, listening to the silence of the house, saved for the few clicking nails from the dogs. He thinks he could live a life like this, secluded and in peace. Just writing and drinking, sharing a bed with Will, as they spend their days together. It was a nice thought, and he felt himself getting lost in it, time eluding him as he continued to think of their future. He jumped when one of the dogs wet noses bumped into his hand, chuckling as Buster barked happily at him before running up the stairs.

“Buster!” Hannibal called, unable to find himself frowning, as he followed the terroir mix up the stairs. “Buster, you know you're not supposed to be up...here.”

Hannibal stops, Will’s room was nothing like he thought it be like. Harpoons laid around the room, all with dried blood on them, the metal old and rusted from years of lying in the air. Hanging from the wall were more seal skins, dried as well but with blood splotches on a few. In the corner laid a small tub filled with water, there were a few seal skins I'm there as well being cleaned of blood. It struck Hannibal that he had entirely forgotten that Will was the town's seal hunter, but the skins were different. The seals at the bay were spotted seals, but the ones hanging around were leapord seals, seals that were nowhere near this place. 

Unless…

Hannibal searched around the room, looking for any clue of what Will might actually be. He opens up a few drawers, finding only clothes in them all. Buster makes a small whine, as he watches Hannibal search through his drawers, before stopping. He looks over to the bed, and drops to his knees finding a medium size box under the bed. Pulling it out he sighs grateful there's no lock on the case, opening it he finds newspaper cut outs dating back to decades ago. To a time where Will, probably wouldn't have been alive right now. He flips through them, fishing each one to be about the Cold Foot murders. But slowly they start to change into seal killings, with men standing around a dead seal hanging like how they hang sharks up; for display. 

His eyes catch onto a familiar face, looking slightly younger, and less of a beard in this one. As the dates continue going backwards, the younger he watches Will’s face progress. Until finally he’s staring at a young boy, probably at the age of 12 holding a too large spear in his hands, with a dead seal behind him. The head title runs through Hannibal’s mind, stamping into his eyes.

Local fishermen’s boy kills Selkie

There’s something about the way he looks, like sullen and in pain about the kills. He flips the pages, looking at the one's where he’s more grown, his face is smiling like the other men in the picture, but it's clearly mirrored. He doesn't want to be there, he doesn't belong with these men. He's not one of them. Hannibal empties the box, expecting more papers to fall out, only to hear a metallic clang hit the floor. 

A key

To where? What for, why-

Hannibal grabs the key, running up back down the stairs to grab the pictures if the murder scenes. The pictures are clear, and it definitely looks like an animal had killed the man, but...He looks closer. The man's right leg looks to be chewed off, but the bone it completely sawed off, something too clean for an animal to do. He’s missing organs as well, and some more pieces of flesh. 

But it couldn't….Will was with Hannibal all night, he couldn't have had enough energy to kill the man. 

There's only one place he could have hidden the body, the meat. If he really is the killer. Hannibal throws on his red snow jacket, while shoving his feet into his boots, making his way around the house to the shack in the back. The key fit perfectly for the lock, and once it fell to the ground Hannibal was walking into the shack. He had no weapon with him, as he was expecting to take a quick look then leave. There was nothing that popped up right away, telling him that Will might be the killer. Three coolers sat around in the shack, made up of a metal used to last in the heat, but with the weather the town was in they would be keeping the meat extra cool.

His hands were shaky as he stepped closer to the first cooler, holding onto the latch longer than he wanted to. Hannibal too a deep breath, then lifted the lid and-

~~

Rocking. Back and forth the movement was enough to send Hannibal falling back asleep, but the sound of waves lapping and crashing against the boat were enough to same him up. He was faced up, looking up to the dark sky, with stars twinkling down at him. His mind raced to think of where he might be, until he remembered what he was doing before...before. He laid in silence, his mind screaming to run, but his hands and feet were tied. Lying still he listened to the splashing of the waves, and the very few seagull calls they flew by. It was almost serene to listen to the silence around him, until he heard a splash come near him, and a grunt.

“Will?”

The moving stopped, and there was silence once more.

“Will...what...what was in the coolers?”

“Evidence.”, came a hissed reply, as another object was lifted and thrown into the water. Hannibal wanted to know why, wanted to just know, but his voice was stuck in his throat.

“How did you figure it out?” Will asked, tossing another hunk of meat into the water. Hannibal heard the sound of a seat squeak under weight, which means Will was probably sitting down.

“Buster ran upstairs, and I know you don't like the dogs on the bed, so…”

“Damn, dogs.” It was lighthearted, without any vile in the words.

Silence filled the air between them, constructing and harming them.

“I killed them you know. My family, my friends, I had no choice. My father loved my mom, but she didn't belong on the sea, so she ran. It was a couple of months later when I got my skin, my father was furious and hid it from me. Taught me how to hunt them...my family...I was good, too good. And then I figured out what I was killing, who I was killing.”

“They were like everyday people in the town, people who you wouldn't have thought to be a selkie. The baker's wife, the old lady down the street, the married couple, Abigail….I killed them. And when I figured it all out, it was too late to fix things, they were dead...and I was alone. They skinned them, and the townspeople made them into rugs and blankets, it was cruel...and they laughed. So I got my revenge.”

“You killed them all, the one's in the last picture? They thought you were like them, but you weren't….you were just fooling them all.” Hannibal said, tears slipping down his cheek. “Was I a fool too, Will? Did this mean anything to you?”

“You were...unplanned for. I was going to kill you a couple of nights later, but then….I just…” he laughed a little. “As crazy as it sounds I fell in love with you, Hannibal. Damn it! I fell in love with you, and then you just had to go looking. I can't...I can't have you telling them, and after this I'm not if you can trust me, or if I can trust you.”

”So, you're going to kill me then. Just like that?”

“Hannibal...please, don't make this harder than it already is.” Will’s voice cracks as a sob escapes.

“At least, tell me you love me, before you kill me…”

There's another broken sob, the chair squeaks again and foot steps come closer to Hannibal. Strong arms grab the front of his jacket, lifting him up to balance him on the edge of the boat. The waves lap at the bottom, waiting for him to drop in and to sink. He looks Will in the eye, and he sees pain, real pain and hurt, tears streaming down his cheeks. He touches Hannibal’s cheek tentatively like he’s afraid he’ll break Hannibal. Wiping away the years on his cheek, before pulling his face to the crook of his neck. 

Will sobs, hard enough that his ribs begin to ache, and become soar. His hands clutching Hannibal’s jacket, and keeping him close. Hannibal presses his nose into Will’s curls, taking a long sniff at his scent. Will chuckles a little.

“Did you just...just smell m-me?”

“Hard to resist. I wanted it to bring me peace while I die.”

“What do...what do I smell like?”

“Like sea water, and ashes, something fruity and warm burning, spices….like home.”

Will goes silent after that, his breathing is slow and ragged as he sniffles loudly. He pulls back, cupping Hannibal’s face in his cheeks, making him look up to him. They smile at one another, but it is broken and mournful. Soft lips press against Hannibal’s forehead, then leading down to his nose, before pressing against his lips. They kiss for what seems like forever, but is really only a few seconds, before they have to breath.

“You know you don't have to do this...We could run away, live somewhere else, together. Warm and safe.”

“You know I can't…”

“Will….”

“...yes…”

“I love you. I love you, more than I should right now. I won't stop loving you, even while I'm dying.”

Fresh set of tears fall down Will’s face, he keeps a hands cupping the side of Hannibal’s face. Caress his cheek, and hair, he smiles. Fondly. Sadly. Regretfully. There’s a glint of something shiny flashing in the corner of Hannibal’s eye, but he doesn't catch it. Instead the blade plummets into his stomach, catching into his skin before dragging horizontally across his skin. Blood sweeps out of the wound, Hannibal gasps for air, his body spasming to cover the wound.

“I love you too.”

And just like that, Hannibal is falling, down, down, down into the deep ocean. The water is below freezing, but he can barely feel anything, his sight goes blurry, he hears the blast of a gun, and something else splashing into the water with him. Everything darkens, fuzzy, hard to see. He feels something grab at him, tugging him sideways, he wants to look but he's lost too much air, too much blood.

It all goes black…

~~

Beep…

Beep…

Beep…

Hannibal’s chest feels heavy, so heavy, like a giant dog lying on top of him. Or another body. His hearing is fuzzy but for the constant sound of beeping near him. He can barely open his eyes. There's a flash! And his vision goes white, before being consumed by sleep again.

Beep…

Beep…

Beep…

People stand around him, words are gibberish, everything is fuzzy and hard to focus. He feels like a freight train is running into his head, over and over again. They gibberish goes quiet, silence, peaceful silence, waiting for silence. A noise rings out. It starts low at first, before crescendoing, louder and louder it gets. A single note pitching high…

Oh…

He's screaming…

He screams louder, the nurses hold him down, as he flails around pulling a few stitches. His heart screams along with him.

Beep…

Beep…

Beep…

When he wakes up again he remains awake, his head feels heavier than he remembered it ever being, and his body tingles with sleep. There’s a tube over his mouth allow him to breath, he can barely even lift a hand to remove it. He coughs, trying to get use to the feeling of something letting him breath, someone speaks next to him.

“Here. Let me.”

He wishes it was Will who was lifting the mask off his face, he wish it was Will’s hand, and not Crawford’s. Heaving a sigh, he croaks out a single word.

“Wa...t...er…”

“Water? Here.” He holds up a cup for Hannibal to sip out of, he drinks it until there's nothing left but air. Crawford sets the cup back down, and let's Hannibal get comfortable before laying down the cold truth. “We went to his house and found it all, he made sure to leave a compelling clue as to who he is….what he is. We didn't catch him though, asshole jumped into the ocean and swam away. He could be anywhere now, but we've got eyes on the lookout.”

“You won't…won’t catch him….unless he wants you to…”

“We left the house for you. And the dogs. He left a note, and…here.” Crawford sets a folded piece of paper on Hannibal’s chest, before standing up to leave. “Get some rest, OK. You’ll need your strength.”

It takes him an hour before he can open up the envelope, not because his arms are tired. No, it's because he's unsure. Unsure of what truth he’ll find written down in the note, unsure of what Will had to say…before he left.

Dear Hannibal,

I do hope that you will be able to read this, before destroying it. I am the killer, I am also the monster you were looking for, for your book. I'm sorry things had to end this way, it should have gone better. I wanted to tell you, but first I needed to really trust you. Of course, it's too late to say that I trust you know, because you probably hate me.

I love you. I'm sorry. 

Forgive me

Will 

He crumpled the note up, and throws it half-heartedly across the room. Tears spring forth from his eyes, as he sobs quietly to himself. Falling asleep with a hand over his scar, his forgiveness. Time flies by afterwards, three months to be exact, three months of living through a blur of pain, and ache. They half him walk around his room, exercising his legs to get stronger. Soon he's able to walk up and down the halls, he sleeps restlessly. Dreams of water and blood, of a knife cutting through his stomach.

He dreams he's chasing something, it swims under the water. A large ominous black shadow, speeding past him before jumping out. He comes face to face with a giant leopard seal, blue eyes like the ocean stare him down. They do not fight. Instead the seal rolls over, exposing its belly. Hannibal holds a knife in his hand, he pulls it up and tears open the seals stomach. Something screams inside of the beast, and when he pushes it over he finds Will, his sweet William being reborn. 

But at what cost.

He barely gets the chance to say anything, to hold him as he crumbles into a pile of ashes. Hannibal looks down to find the skeleton of a seal left behind. A second skin. The truth.

They let him out after a few days later, he walks with a strange limp. Hunching over a little, before he has to straighten himself out. The press fill the steps, snapping shots, asking questions, it all just blurs around him. He probably looks like a mess, hospital beds aren't made for sleeping, there made for the dying. When he gets hom-to the cabin, he sees a few press cars hiding out around. Waiting to take a bite out of him, but he’s patient, he’ll wait them out.

He spends three weeks inside a vacant home, only leaving to get food and walk the dogs. They keep the press at bay when he stands outside. However, there’s a certain redhead who won’t give up, she’s the only one brave enough to approach the snarling dogs.

“Dr. Lecter. Dr. Lecter? I wanted to ask about the home, it looks like the perfect place for my family to come for vacation. Could we possibly talk, and make some sort of-”

“Don’t play stupid with me please. I know who you are, you're the one who took a picture of my scar while I was laying there naked.” Hannibal growls, standing behind the screen door. The dogs growl behind him, not even Buster likes the woman.

She smiles at him, smiles like a snake.

“Well, you're a lot smarter than I thought. I did but a black box over your privates, a rather large box.” he doesn't smile. “Alright. Well, here's my card if you want to call, I'd be happy to get your story out there. Tell the world about the man who survived the Cold Foot-”

“Please, just go already.” Hannibal growls, before slamming the door close. He waits until he hears a car drive off, before letting the dogs out. 

He misses the seals...he misses Will…

Hannibal frowns, thinking about the seals again, he wonders if they're even still there. He pulls on a snow jacket, while tugging his boots on before leaving the house. Calling the dogs back inside so they don't run off, or scare the seals. Hannibal makes his way down the old trail he’s gone down more times than he could count, when he takes the cut off he listens for the sound of the playing pups. It is faint, but he hears a low noise.

The seals are no longer there, of course not, they must have left to move to some new secluded area. But...there is one rather large lump lying near the edge of the water. A leopard seal, it bends its head back, spine at an arch with it’s jaws held open. The seal makes a low guttural moaning noise, like it’s dying. Hannibal can see how the animal has barely fed itself, possible is dying from hunger.

But his eye catches on something, on the seals cheek is a touch white line. He knows that scar…

“Will?”

The seal stops moaning, lifting it’s head up to stare at Hannibal. Intelligent blue eyes stare down at him, as he walks forward, holding a and out. His nose catches a scent, sea water, ashes, and…..and home. Tears begin to spill down his cheek, as he wraps his arms around the great beast neck. The seal makes small whining noises, shoving its snout against Hannibal’s skin as it sniffs him.

“I know...I know...I losses you too.” Hannibal mumbles, running a hand down Will’s sleek fur.

They stand there holding each other, ignoring time as the sun starts to set. Hannibal pulls back first, cupping Will’s giant head in his hands. Pulling him close so he can nuzzle his nose, against Will’s own seal nose. He gets a snort at him, and chuckles.

“Yes, I know I'm weird.” Hannibal sighs, kissing the snout softly, earning a playful whine. “No. No more kisses until you change back.”

Another snort, and Will makes a small barking noise, making Hannibal laugh a little more. But the moment is short lived as a gunshot goes off, Hannibal turns to see Crawford standing not too far away. The man holds a gun up to Will, who snarls at him.

“Will! Change back now, and face your sentence. You can't outrun me this time!” Crawford yells.

Will snarls loudly, but stops as Hannibal tails his skin. He keeps still as Hannibal moves towards the water, stopping as Crawford aims the gun at him. Wrong move. Both Will and Hannibal jump into the freezing water, Hannibal latches his arms around Will’s neck holding his breath as the selkie slices through the water. The bullets hit the water, but fail to even hit either one of them as Will flies through the ocean. 

It’s probably the coldest couple of hours? Minutes? Moments. Of Hannibal's life, as he hangs into Will for dear life, having only a few water breaks before holding his breath once more. Finally, Will slows down as they come close to a boat. Hannibal climbs aboard first, panting heavily as he takes a break. The boat tips as Will jumps on after him, he looks up at the great seal frowning a little.

“Aren’t you going to change back?”

Will holds his head down, almost like he's shy, Hannibal huffs at him and rolls his eyes. The selkie gives in, and starts to change. The transformation is not like how most would write it in stories for children. No, it’s painful to watch, as Will howls with pain as the skull starts to shrink. His flippers begin to elongate and grow into fingers, as he reaches back and starts to pull off the seal skin like it’s a shirt. When the skin is off, Will drops it on the floor, before laying down himself. His skin is red and bare, covered in blood like a newborn child. 

“Interesting.” Hannibal hums, before walking off to find the bathroom on the boat.

The boat is not small by standards, but also not big either. It holds a bathroom, a bedroom with a small study, an engine room and on top a nice deck. Hannibal starts up a warm bath, wanting to hop in first, but walks back up the stairs to retrieve Will and his skin. He washes Will up first, rubbing soap over the gore and being gently with Will’s back as it still stings. When he’s finish he dries Will off with a fluffy towel, and lays him down on the bed. Then goes to warm his body up in the warm shower, he makes quick work with drying himself off to return to Will’s side.

The man holds his skin in his hands, thumbing it a bit, before looking up at Hannibal. He freezes a little, before standing up and walking towards Hannibal, and holds out the skin towards Hannibal.

“Now you have to hid it from me, so I can't leave you.” Will says, his voice barely above a whisper.

Hannibal smiles, taking the skin in his hand. “But I don't want to hide it, I don't want you to be bound to me by force. I want you to be willing.”

“Well….then you already have me.” 

Hannibal pulls Will close to kiss him, his hand fisted in Will’s skin, rubbing a thumb over the smooth skin. Will pulls back moaning, reaching up to cover his nipples. 

“Ummm…”

“Shit. Do that again.” Will says, sounding breathless.

Hannibal lifts the seal skin up, running a hand down the pelt before thumbing upwards. Will’s back arches at this, his cock turning red and hard as he moans. Smirking, Hannibal begins to rub a little more harder on the skin, watching as Will wiggle around on the bed, moaning as he does.

“Ffffuck! That feels amazi-AH!” He flips to his side, hands grabbing at the bed. 

Hannibal doesn't stop his stroking on the pelt, scratching a little and pinching the parts he believes to be Will’s nipples. Will flops around like a fish, moaning and groaning as he tries to hold still, finally his head falls back as his eyes roll into his skull, releasing a howling moan.

“Did you just-”

“Yes.”

“Oh...we might have to save this for later.” Hannibal smiles, a him of mischievousness in his eyes.

Will makes a small growl, but doesn't move as Hannibal sets the skin to the side. Coming back from the bathroom with a wet rag to clean Will up, then tucking them both under the covers. Will curls up into Hannibal's arms, running his thumb across the white line on Hannibal’s stomach before having his hand captured and pulled up to Hannibal’s lips.

“Forget about it, OK. I love you.”

“You're on the fun now, wanted. Because of me, are you sure you want to-”

Hannibal silenced Will with a kiss, wrapping his body around the man, and holding him close. Nuzzling his face into Will’s curl a as he whispers, “I would do anything to stay with you.” Will relaxes under his touches, wrapping his arms around Hannibal. It's not long until they both fall asleep, together, laying in one anothers arms

**Author's Note:**

> Kufos and Comments are loved!!


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